ENTERPRISE54 – As a female entrepreneur who is constantly looking for inspiration, I like to read about great women who have made a difference in the world. I read about women from all genres or industries. The late Maya Angelou is one of the women whose story intrigued me. I also took a class once on African American literature and she was my favorite writer and poet. She suffered through many tragedies in her life and came through a better person.

Today I want to share some of her quotes that would be relevant to any female entrepreneur out there struggling through many obstacles. These quotes will speak directly to you. I hope they inspire you, they definitely inspire me.

“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.”

This quote is self explanatory; if you don’t like the current state your life is in – change it. Sitting around and complaining how bad things are doesn’t solve anything, it just makes you a more negative person. Get moving and start changing your life in a positive way, step by step.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”

Most people want to be successful in life; whether it’s as an entrepreneur or in your chosen career. The thing that most people forget, or ignore; is the effort required in achieving that dream. There are many obstacles and challenges before one attains success. Nobody should ever assume that it was effortless, if you see a successful person – they have gone through a lot to get there.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

This applies to an individual or a business. Especially when you’re dealing with your customers, you need to learn to listen to them and work hard to solve their problem. You should not do it just for the money, but because you want to help them. When you genuinely want to help a person and listen to them, they feel important and valued. This makes the person feel good and he/she will never forget you.

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” 

This is very true, to be an entrepreneur is to be courageous. It is to be brave and to act regardless of any fear or doubt you have. If you cannot be courageous, you can’t make it as an entrepreneur at all.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” 

This is another quote that is self explanatory. If you become an entrepreneur, you should start a business that you have a passion for. You have to like what you do, so as not to give up when the going gets tough. You have to like yourself by being true to yourself and constantly working hard to be a better person. You also have to do things in an accountable and correct way, so you can be proud of what you’re doing.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” 

This quote is similar to the previous one, make sure you love what you’re doing. Don’t be driven only by money, make sure in whatever business you are doing, you’re solving a problem. Your business should be helping people and making their lives better.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” 

This quote speaks to any entrepreneur that encounters failure in her/his business. As an entrepreneur, you will most definitely encounter failure in your journey. The true test of an entrepreneur is how you deal with the failure. You should learn from it and make sure not to repeat your mistake. Failure is important in an entrepreneur’s journey to success. I believe that it does build character and shows you what you’re really capable of enduring.

If you have any other Maya Angelou quotes you would love to share below, please feel free ^_^.

Editor’s Note: This post was contributed by Kenyan Trep Lady